Thanksgiving, was genau ist das und was bedeutet es?

Thanksgiving, was genau ist das und was bedeutet es?: UlrichK's Food & Travel Blogs - Thanksgiving, was genau ist das und was bedeutet es? -

Swis Glaciers-Now you see them, soon you wont!

https://www.ulrichkoepf.website/swiss-glaciers-now-you-see-them-soon-you-wont/

Restaurant “Lucide” (clear, honest!)

Restaurant “Lucide” (clear, honest!): Restaurant “Lucide” (clear, honest!) - UlrichK's Food & Travel Blogs -

Edmonton, Canada, Modern Art Cafe @ minus 32°

Edmonton, Canada, Modern Art Cafe @ minus 32°: Edmonton, Canada, Modern Art Cafe @ minus 32° - UlrichK's Food & Travel Blogs

Awesome Art by Nazarine Koepf on ArtPal.Com

Awesome Art by Nazarine Koepf on ArtPal.Com: Awesome Art by Nazarine Koepf on ArtPal.Com - UlrichK's Food & Travel Blogs

Swiss Groundhogs!

Swiss Groundhogs!: Let me hear from You, any comments are appreciated.

The Greatest Danger to Europe is the USA

Not Russia, not China

The crisis in the USA is the greatest risk for Europe right now. Upgrading to more cooperation with the EU and NATO would be very advisable.

We are currently living one global political caesura comparable to the end of the Cold War 30 years ago.

 We had three peaceful, beautiful decades in Western Europe and we will have to adjust to the fact that really difficult times are dawning. Forces can return that have long been part of everyday world politics and in many parts of the world never have Gone were: Nationalism and the law of the strongest. Both are a great threat to international balance and peace, they put international law and global cooperation under pressure. The previous peace order that emerged after the Second World War still holds but there is now a kind of competition; we will have to actively defend the previous world order if we wanted to keep them. And it seems we haven't yet understood what's at stake for us:  Democracy, Rule of Law Freedom, Peace, and the Ideals of Enlightenment.

And that could go wrong even very quickly, you can see that live in the USA. 

The democracy crisis in the USA is currently the greatest threat to our security if the most powerful and oldest democracyin the world doesn't manage to tame its enemies in its own country, we in Europe also have a problem, because the USA is the guarantor of the current peace order. Donald Trump has hijacked the Republican Party, which is now heading towards autocracy, unfortunately, it has to be said with this harshness.  This is also reflected in the fact that large parts of the party don't care that their president caused a coup d’etat at the end of his term. 

 And If they are, in their current state, win back the White House as well in 2024, which is quite possible given the looming economic crisis, there is a high risk that the international front will collapse against Russia and other autocrats.

In the event that it would be someone else besides Trump, then it will be someone with very similar positions, such as Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida. 

The likelihood that the USA will then withdraw from NATO is high, which would be catastrophic for the security situation in Europe. And within the USA there will be even more pressure on democracy and the rule of law.

 The Republicans are big fans of the autocratic Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

We, here in Europe, should definitely be preparing for this scenario. We feared already in 2014 after the occupation of Crimea, that it would not end there. Putin’s world view is very nationalistic and revisionist, from his point of view the national community of Russia extends beyond its borders therefore it has to be shifted. He sees himself as the new Zar with the mission to restore the empire to its former glory.

This war will probably go on for a long time, both sides have to want to end it, and that is not foreseeable for the time being. iI has been going on since 2014, it's just gotten worse, possibly this will result in a frozen conflict as in Georgia and South Ossetia.  There will be a truce but no mutual recognition of the new borders. Only that would now also be progress.

We are heading for a new Cold War.  And just because the Russians are having military difficulties in Ukraine does not mean that the threat to Europe has been averted. We have no choice but to defend ourselves with weapons if necessary. The alternative can be seen at the moment in Russia. 

On the one hand, the past 30 years have been so idyllic for many that they can't even imagine how bad it could get. On the other hand, not everyone has benefited. The social and economic inequality has grown and fears of insecurity and frustration have increased, especially in the working class in the West. they are the losers of the past decades.

 The populists address this insecurity in an intelligent way and promise simple solutions which of course don't work, but with issues of culture war and xenophobia, they would have become politically relevant factors.

How do we win against the autocrats?? By ensuring that life in our part of the world is more attractive than in the authoritarian states. Then we will also remain a livable model for the people there. That is the way to win this struggle - in the long term with Soft Power, not by force of Weapons!

 

A Weird And Bizarre World We Live In!

A Weird And Bizarre World We Live In!: Understanding the USA nowadays, it's necessary to grasp one thing concerning the Institution.

Gorge of the River Aare, Canton Bern, Switzerland

Gorge of the River Aare, Canton Bern, Switzerland: 25,000 years ago this gorge was a glacier

The Story of Tea

The Story of Tea: Discovered 5000 years ago!

Serious Food for Thoughts, 5 G & Your Brain Health!

Serious Food for Thoughts, 5 G & Your Brain Health!: Read here what you can do to maintain a healthy brain and to eventually prevent dementia!

ONE DAY, FOUR SEASONS!

ONE DAY, FOUR SEASONS!: This is a column featuring in a Swiss Supermarket Newspaper on a weekly basis by a young lady by the name of Lisa Stutz, every week she puts a smile on my face when a read her short but funny stories. She seeks the balance between urban and rural. And picks the best of both.

How much do these parts of our body weigh?

How much do these parts of our body weigh?: The Heart is about the size of a persons fist. it weighs about 300 grams. Adults have between 55 and 65 milliliters of blood in their body per kilogram of weight. That's about 8 percent of the total

Swiss Travel and Food, Soothing Music Video

https://www.ulrichkoepf.website/swiss-travel-and-food-soothing-music-video/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLDscSAJ-OE

Swiss Military Bunker Revival

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk5XAP1CPN0

Where ammunition was once stored in the army bunkers in Erstfeld and Stansstad,

Alex Lussi, today, grows Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms sustainably. The Bunkers are ideal for this.

Thousands of disused military installations pierce the country of Switzerland. These days they are experiencing a civil revival!

Consumers prefer Swiss mushrooms

Mushrooms are trendy, the mushroom market in Switzerland is growing. The market share of Swiss mushrooms is 80 percent. Nevertheless, the competition between Holland and Poland is causing problems for Swiss producers. Since the mushrooms are picked by hand in Switzerland too, the wage costs are particularly significant, the production costs are 40 to 50 percent higher than in the EU. «The market is open. There is no border protection and no subsidies in mushroom production, ”says Lussi. He therefore regularly obtains information from colleagues in Holland so that he can react to changes in the market in good time.

«We have to use our advantages consistently: Our mushrooms are fresh and quick in the store. Our historical production facilities are of interest, ”says Lussi. “We still have space in our production rooms, we can increase production and expand the variety of mushrooms on offer. It is important that we produce inexpensively, maintain the quality and improve our level of awareness. ”

 

Gotthard Bio-Pilze AG, Erstfeld

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Avocado, my favorite is a climate Killer?

This Superfruit has a bad reputation. Wrongly accused!

How did the avocado get its bad reputation?

If you compare the avocado to other fruits and vegetables it doesn’t look that drastic.

What’s good in this fruit?

The qualities of the avocado are undisputed: high nutritional value, lots of protein, fiber and vitamins, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Aztecs, who cultivated the fruit more than 10,000 years agoin the Guatemalan-Mexican border area, called it “ahuacatl”, in English: testicles, because of its shape.

How many do we eat?

The avocado is considered a trend fruit that has become popular in Europe and worldwide with the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle. The numbers are impressive: After 2000, 3700 tons were imported into Switzerland alone, in 2010 6000 and in 2021 more than 19000 tons. Last year, Migros, a Swiss supermarket chaine, imported 7,461 tons or 24,698,532 pieces.

How much water does she swallow?

It takes around 600 liters of water to produce one kilogram of avocados. Is that much? Basically yes. At least if fruit comes from a dry country. But in a liter-per-kilogram comparison, it no longer looks so drastic. Some examples: 790 liters of water for a kilo of bananas, 800 for apples; 15,000 liters for beef and 17,000 liters for chocolate.

What is the impact of transport on the climate?

If you measure the influence on climate and environment, the focus is primarily on production. Any transportation is negligible as long as it is not by plane – which is hardly the case with avocados. Interesting: Ship transport is 20 to 30 times more efficient than road transport. Avocados from overseas are no worse for the climate than those from Spain or Portugal, on the contrary.

So, spread butter or avocado on your bread?

Smearing avocado on toast is 3x better than butter in terms of environmental and climate issues. In order to cover a third of the daily requirement of a person, 1384 grams of CO2 are produced with butter and only 457 grams with avocado.

 

 

 

 

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The Restaurant Broadway Stage

The Restaurant Broadway Stage: Somewhere between the excitement of the Broadway Stage and a December football scrimmage, one finds an extraordinary phenomenon called the Restaurant. Restaurants come in assorted sizes, prices, and themes, yet all have a common creed to serve people every minute of every hour of the day. Restaurants are composites: 🎉They are places to fill up, flake out, to celebrate, remember, or even forget. To your competitor, your restaurant is always filled, and you steal his help. You have the greatest chef, the most cleanly kitchen, and real personality bartenders. To your guest, you are a swinger, Party Boy, living the life of Riley. And you think to yourself, as so many do, that someday “When I retire, I am going to open up a little place of my own.” Restaurants live with phrases: “We are two dishwashers short.” “The chef picked up his knives.” and “Do you call this Stroganoff?” 🥩Your steady guest of ten years just told you that his steak was cold and tough 😡 and that you shall never see him again. It’s the only business that is only as good as your last meal. A restaurant is a smile on your face when you are two waiters short. It’s a new grey suit with cherry stains on the sleeve. It’s shaking hands with the mayor while wielding the plunger. It’s smiling, after two hours of sleep, at a stranger; while your kids ask, “When is Daddy coming home.” Restaurants are Saturday nights, low food cost, Mother’s Day, New Year’s Eve, and Brunch on a rainy summer Sunday. 🛠Restaurants suffer from freezing rain, weather warnings, and most holidays and plagues. They hurt at the sight of a competitor’s full parking lot, rising prices, and the new place being built across the street. A Restaurant demands an attempt to be Cecil B. DeMille and Rogers & Hart, while the script is controlled by your friendly banker. It requires the fitness of an art collector along with the fortitude and skills of a plumber, carpenter, and electrician. And yet……a restaurant is the World Series, Super Bowl, and Oscar night all rolled into one when you hear those heartwarming words, “It’s the best meal we have ever had, and we’ll be back.”👍

The Restaurant Broadway Stage

The Restaurant Broadway Stage: Somewhere between the excitement of the Broadway Stage and a December football scrimmage, one finds an extraordinary phenomenon called the Restaurant.

ANGRY MERCEDES DRIVER

ANGRY MERCEDES DRIVER: written by Lisa Stutz, She is looking for a balance between urban and rural. And picks the best of both. CITY, COUNTRY, STUTZ There isn't much that everyone in Zurich agrees on. But "AG" on the license plate stands for "Achtung Gefahr" (Canton Aargau), “Warning, Danger". Fathers impress this on their sons while they are written by Lisa Stutz, She is looking for a balance between urban and rural. And picks the best of both.

An Interesting aspect/view of the present World Situtation

An Interesting aspect/view of the present World Situtation: This was written by Andrea Krüger, she is a German Citizen, I do not know her, I am just re-posting her comments from Facebook because I think her observations and opinion are very interesting and something to think about! and it eplains my comments and thoughts about China, India in my previous blog from earlier Ulrich Koepf An Interesting aspect/view of the present World Situation

Das Ukrainische Dilemma

Das Ukrainische Dilemma: Was wir in der Ukraine erleben, ist absolut ekelhaft, inakzeptabel und beschämend für ganz Europa! Haben wir denn nichts aus der Vergangenheit gelernt? Was ist der Unterschied zwischen Hitler, der in den 40er Jahren versucht hat, Europa und Russland zu übernehmen, und dem, was wir gerade in der Ukraine beobachten?! Alfred

Und die besten Drinks der Welt gibt es in …?

Und die besten Drinks der Welt gibt es in …?: Die liste der besten drinks der welt, entzogen von 20 MIN. zeitschrift. Und die besten Drinks der Welt? | UlrichK's Food & Travel Blogs

Humanitarian – Neutral Switzerland

Humanitarian – Neutral Switzerland: War, Refugees, and Internment The Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) ends with the defeat of France. after the capture of Napoleon III. In the autumn of 1870, the proclamation of the Third Republic in France and the proclamation of the German Empire, in January 1871 the French Eastern Army under General Bourbaki reigned for the last time.

Brauchen Sie eine Webseite? Kontaktieren Sie mich!

Brauchen Sie eine Webseite? Kontaktieren Sie mich!: Besitzen Sie ein kleines Unternehmen, haben Sie vielleicht ein Hobby oder eine Leidenschaft, die Sie mit der Welt teilen möchten, oder möchten Sie vielleicht Ihre eigene Blog-Seite haben? Ich kann Ihre eigene Website für einen Bruchteil der Kosten entwerfen und einrichten, die ein professioneller Webdesigner Ihnen berechnen würde. Kontaktieren Sie mich unter uliandnaz@gmail.com und sprechen

The Man for the Faire – Max Havelaar

The Man for the Faire – Max Havelaar: I am not certain wether this name is recognized in the US or not, but here in Switzerland it is a household name. By Coop Newspaper, Switzerland, Feb.2020 Max Havelaar never lived. Yet he exists twice: as the main character in a Dutch bestseller from 1860 that denounced colonialism, and today as a symbolic figure

Craftsmenship from the City of Aarau in New York

Craftsmenship from the City of Aarau in New York: This Story My sister told me about this, written in a local newspaper, it is taking me back to my Childhood. I grew up in this City, Aarau, the capital of the Canton of Aargau, named after the river that flows through it, the Aare river. During my school days, I walked by this factory

https://www.ulrichkoepf.website/9oou

Craftsmenship from the City of Aarau in New York

by ULRICH KOEPF on FEBRUARY 9, 2022

This Story

My sister told me about this, written in a local newspaper, it is taking me back to my Childhood.

I grew up in this City, Aarau, the capital of the Canton of Aargau, named after the river that flows through it, the Aare river. During my school days, I walked by this factory 4x a day, in the morning to school, walking back home for lunch, and then in the afternoon back to school, and then do it all over again late afternoon to go home.

As I walked by the factory I was always curious what was going on behind those big wooden doors, all the banging and noises that came out of there; as the huge glass windows were always open, because of the heat and steam by pouring the liquid Bronze, I sometimes climbed up on to the wall trying to peek inside, I always saw men, wearing heavy leather aprons, rushing around back and forth inside, but never really saw a bell being poured. Now, reading this article, I am saying to myself “Why didn’t I ever ask to go inside to have a look?”

On some days I watched Horse Carriages unloading Horsemanure into the walled-in backyard, I knew that they were using the manure to insulate the bell molds, before pouring the Bronze, nowadays they use Sand instead. I do remember the smell in the neighborhood walking by in the morning! So, when I saw this story it brought back nice memories from my childhood; and that factory is still running today!

The makings of a Piece of Art

For weeks, artist Niclas Castello melted a huge amount of gold into a cube at the Rüetschi bell foundry in Aarau, Canton Aargau. The age-old Aarau company is now making international headlines.

Original in German by Nadja Rohner and Daniel Vizentini, Translated to English and elaborated by Ulrich Koepf

On the second morning of February this year, it simply stood in Central Park in New York: a cube of gold, guarded by a security team, of course. It is “The Castell Cube,” a new project by German-born artist Niclas Castello, who is also launching a cryptocurrency, thus bridging the gap between an ancient and a brand-new payment medium. The work of art made international headlines – and so did the Aarau bell foundry Rüetschi. In order to transform 186 kilograms of pure 24-carat gold into the shape of a cube, the artist had to rely on the know-how of the oldest foundry in Switzerland (and thus one of the oldest companies in the world).

Niclas Castello and his Spouse

In fact, the Aarau company is probably the only one that was able to realize this art project, as Edona Berisha from H.Rüetschi AG says when asked. “We were convinced that our many years of experience would enable us to realize for Niclas Castello what many art foundries would have rejected.” The artist himself spent several weeks in the foundry workshop on Rain in Aarau. A team of filmmakers accompanied the complex production process.

Never before had so much gold been cast at once

For the production, a test casting was made in advance 1:1 with suitable material, Edona Berisha explains. the “Castello Cube” was cast in two parts in a natural sand process and welded together. “the solidification process required the purchase of a new furnace for the project, as the use of the pure material rather than an alloy composite presented a unique challenge,” share the artist and the foundry. “The surfaces and bends required perfection. For the final casting in collaboration with a goldsmith, the mold had to withstand temperatures of up to 1100°C. A venture into the unknown, a proverbial melting pot between art and commerce, a cube, was born.”

This cube measures 50x50x50 cm weighs 186 kilograms and was cast from 24 carats of pure gold. “That was also the difficulty of it all. Never before has such an enormous amount of gold been cast in a single, pure object,” says Edona Berisha. Niclas Castello adds, “Its completion took more than 4500 hours, the digging even more.” The artwork, although not for sale, is worth about 11.7 million US dollars, which is equivalent to about 10.8 million Swiss francs. It was on display in Central Park for only one day; what will happen to it after that is not yet known.

 

The Euro since 2002

The Euro since 2002: In 2002 it was called: Goodbye D-Mark, Lira, and Franc. Since then, Europeans have been paying with Euro Currency. The single currency brought negative interest rates and turbulent times for the export industry to Switzerland. THE BEGINNING Used as book money since 1999, the Euro was introduced as cash on 1.1.2002. Politically, it was considered … Read More

Year 2022! What is waiting for us?

Year 2022! What is waiting for us?: RND.DE Aktuelle Nachrichten - Baba Wanga Baba Wanga - Hellseherin - Wikipedia

The 6 must Do and See in Switzerland, Winter or Summer!

The 6 must Do and See in Switzerland, Winter or Summer!: Switzerland is an absolutely beautiful place, no matter which Canton or area you find yourself in, it is all beautiful, not only is it perfectly clean and organized, but also friendly and tourist accomodating. I can personally vouch and guarantee that you will be very happy and amazed by the 6 destinations that I am … Read More

A Sunday walk in the neighborhood